Improved apparatus tor tanning hides



Z.,T. WHITE.

Apparatus for Tanning Hides.

Patentad March 29, 1870.

N. PEIERS. Pham-Lnnognphsr. washnmn. D. c.

distinti states @anni ctjijiw.

TO HIMSELF AND FRANKLIN WALDO PERRY, OF SAME PLACE.

Letters Potent No. 101,331, dated March 29, 1870.

IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR TANNING- HIDES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same,

To all persons to whom these presents 'may come:

Be it known that I, ZEBARD THOMPSON WHITE, of Winchester, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have madea new and useful invention having reference to Apparatus or Means em ployed for Tanning HidesyandI do hereby declare the same to be fully described in the following speciticatvion and represented in the. accompanying drawings.

Of such drawings- Figure 1 is a top view, and

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of my tanning apparatus.

Figure 3 is a rear end elevation of it.

By my invention I am enabled to maintain a continuous circulation of liquor through and out of the tan-vat or vats,4the cisterns and leach-tub or tubs, instead of being obliged to draw from the tan-vat or vats, and from and so as to expose or uncover the charge ot' hides thereof, the spent liquor in a manner as hereinbefore practiced, and afterward allow or canse it to pass into the weak-liquor cistern.

My apparatus keeps the hides of the vat (and especially of the terminal vat of the series where more vats than one are employed) always covered with the liquor while they are in such vat, and -besides it operates to greatly improve and cheapen the 'tanning process, as it not only causes the tanning qualities of the liquor to be presented to better advantage to the hides, but saves the labor heretofore usually required in emptying the vat of spent liquor and introducing or effecting the introduction of such into the weakliquor cistern.

In the drawings- A A' are what are generally termed the weak and strong-liquor cisterns, there being arranged above them the heating-reservoir B and the cooling-reservoir'B.

Below these latter reservoirs is the leaching apparatus, which, in this instance, is shown as two tubs O O.

In advance of and below the leaching apparatus there is a tan-vat or a system of such vats, which system may comprise one or more ranges of the vats, there being two such ranges or series of them shown in the drawings. One range is denoted by the letters D E F G, and thc other bythe letters D E F G'. t

A pump, H, is employed over and between the two liquor-cisterne or junks A A', to pump liquor from either up into either or both of the reservoirs B B', there being'suitable pipes, a a', b, c o', (provided with propercocks, d e f g h,) for the conveyance of the .liquor from the cisterns to the pump, and thence to the reservoirs B B', the whole being arranged as represented in -igs. I and 3.

The two reservoirs B B' communicate, by short pipes, (furnished with'stop-cocks i iQ) with a conduit, k, furnished with branch pipes, ZZ, arranged to lead into the tubs O C', there being not only a 'stop-cock, m, in the conduit k, but another' such cock, n. or n, in each of the branch pipes l l.

There is also a pipe, o, leading from the pipe b, and provided with branches,p p', to lead liquor directly from such pipe into theleach-tubs. The pipe o should be provided with a stop-cock, q.

Another pipe, fr, provided with a stop-cock, s, leads `from the junction of the disoharge-pipes of the reservoirs B B to the system of tan-rats, such pipe lr being provided with branches, t t, at its first terminus. One of such branches leads into the rst vat, D, oi one range of the tau-vats, the other of .the branches being-also led into the first vat, D', of the other range. Furthermore, each of such branches opens near the bottom of its vat.

lach of the vats of the range communicates with that next in advance of it by a pipe, u, which leads out ot' the upper part of the rear vat and opens into the advance one near its bottom.

Each vat may or should be provided with a wasteopening in its bottom, furnished with a valve or plug, such openings being made to communicate with a drain-pipe or pipes shown at r or c. These drains lead intoa common drain-pipe, r, which opens into the weak-liquor cstern.

The leach or leach-tubs may be or are usually provided with an exhaust-pipe, as shown at w, it being made to open into the drain-pipe leading to the weakliquor cistern.

All of the above-described apparatus may be said lto be essentially like such as is in common use for tanning hides, its mode of operation being well understood by tanners and persons skilled in the artto which it appertains.

In carrying ont my invention, l have combined with such described apparatus an overflow-pipe or means of conveying thc liquor from the upper part of the tan-vat or terminal vat of each range into the drainpipe or into the weak-liquor eist-ern.

In the drawings I have shown the overflow-pipe at :c as leading into the drain-pipe, and at y as leading out of' the upper partof each terminal or most advanced vat of the range and into the weak-liquor cistern. By means of this addition the terminal vat may be kept charged withliquor so as to cover the hides, the spent liquor tlowing off through the overflow-pipe, and finally escaping into Athe weak-liquor cistern. Thus it will be seen that by my invention there will be a continuous iiow or circulation of the liquor through and out of the vats and into the weakliquor cisterns, from whence it will be elevated into the heating-reservoir, from whence it will ilw into the leaching apparatus. From the latter it will pass into the strongdiquor cistern, and from there be elevated into the cooler, from whence it `will be discharged into the first or reurmost tan-vat of each range of vats, and, :Liter having circulated through the range, will he discharged hy the overflow-pipe. y l

My invention saves much if not all of what is termed handling of the hides while in the vets, either by means of mechanism or by manual labor applied to them so as to move them from time to time, in a mauncr and for purposes well understood by tanuers.

I claim the combination of an overow eductionconduit, :v or 1 with one or more tau-vats D, e leaching-zipparatus, C, a pair of weekend strong liquorjunks or cisterus, A A', :t heating-reservoir, B, and aA 

